Mobile communication devices have become increasingly common in current society for providing wireless communication services. The prevalence of these mobile communication devices is driven in part by the many functions that are now enabled on such devices. Increased processing capabilities in such devices means that mobile communication devices have evolved from being pure communication tools into sophisticated mobile multimedia centers that enable enhanced user experiences.
Advanced wireless communication technologies defined by the third-generation partnership project (3GPP), such as long-term evolution (LTE) and fifth-generation new radio (5G-NR), are widely regarded as the foundations for future wireless communication systems. Conventionally, the LTE and the 5G-NR technologies are designed to operate in licensed radio frequency (RF) spectrums. However, as mobile technology users continue to grow and demand for higher data speeds continues to increase, the licensed RF spectrums become overcrowded and scarce.
To help ease overcrowding in the licensed RF spectrums, the 3GPP defined a new technical standard to allow mobile communication devices to communicate RF signals in unlicensed RF spectrums. More specifically, the 3GPP defined licensed assisted access (LAA) and enhanced LAA (eLAA) standards that enable mobile communication devices to receive and transmit in unlicensed 5 GHz RF spectrums in addition to the existing licensed RF spectrums. One such band defined by the 3GPP in the unlicensed RF spectrums is LTE band 46 (5150-5925 MHz). However, the unlicensed 5 GHz RF spectrums have also been widely used by the wireless communication devices to provide Wi-Fi® connectivity based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11g, and 802.11ac standards. As such, it may be desirable for LTE, 5G-NR, LAA, eLAA, and Wi-Fi technologies to coexist in the mobile communication devices.